The Social Impact Consortium

The California Band Director Association Social Impact Consortium is a project launched in 2020 in support of the national Black Lives Matter movement, expanding its scope and mission starting in 2022.

 

This annual consortium serves three purposes: to commission new wind band repertoire to be premiered by California All State bands at the yearly CASMEC convention in February; to support compositional voices from underrepresented identities in the wind band repertoire; and to create an affordable buy-in consortium opportunity for national and international ensembles for pieces with deeper social meanings. 

Past Pieces
Learn More at ...And we were heard

The 2025 Social Impact
Consortium Piece

Purchase Here
Composer Website
Composer's Work for Winds

About the Piece:

Mientras más honda las herida, es mi canto más hermoso.

The deeper the wound, the sweeter my song. – Jose Martí

 

This work is dedicated to the composer, Giovanni Santos’ mother, Carrie Santos Peña. His mother passed away on February 15, 2024 from a short but intense battle with cancer. Giovanni is honored to celebrate her through this composition.

He writes:

“My mom was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, moving to Puerto Rico for educational reasons. Her shining light shines bright in all of us, and we are so thankful for her guidance and unconditional love. Our memories are too many to share, but this work aims to celebrate her beautiful life.
La Última Llamada (The Last Call), uses a very specific musical idea throughout the work. As young kids, my mom would call my brothers and I with a very specific whistled interval. Although the interval varied, we always knew she was calling us back to the house in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. The interval is first introduced by my mother herself in a recorded clip, her last time to do this before her passing. Once in a while, if she was only calling me, she would sing, “Gio-va-Gio-va-nniiiiiiii-tooooo!” (mm. 14-15). The motif is later expressed harmonically on the piano and glockenspiel and with the off-stage flute and clarinet. The off-stage flute represents my mother’s voice. The off-stage clarinet represents me (or my brothers).

I’m proud that this work also celebrates immigrants; their challenges, stories, and contributions. CBDA has developed a wonderful curriculum for students to explore and understand their own families and their stories. There’s a t-shirt that I wear proudly every week on campus here at La Sierra University (CA). On the t-shirt, the following is printed: ‘Because of my mom, I AM.'”

– Giovanni Santos, composer

Grade Level: 3

Duration: 5 min.

Instrumentation:
Standard Wind Band + 6 Percussion (limited and expanded options)
Piano (not optional)

Buy In: $150 (due by 1/19/2025)

Delivery: Electronic PDFs (1/20/2025)

More About the Social Impact Consortium

 
Each year, one or two pieces will be commissioned from a composer (or a pair of composers) based on a social impact topic selected by the composer. Topics are intentionally broad for wide appeal and application and the Social Impact Consortium team works with curriculum developers and experts in relevant fields to build companion curriculum, program notes, and activities to support musician and community engagement with the yearly theme.
Consortium members will receive premiere rights following the world premiere by the selected California All-State ensemble, their institution’s name included in the score, as well as access to in-print and electronic materials including score and set of parts and companion curriculum.

For More Information

 

Please contact the DEIA Representative, Dr. Kaitlin Bove with any questions.